Key Lime Spritzer Cookies
“If life gives you limes, make margaritas.”
~Jimmy Buffet
Twenty years ago or so, Pepperidge Farm marketed Lime Spritzer and Lemon Spritzer cookies. They used to show up in the grocery store for the summer season only. There aren’t too many packaged cookies I like, but boy, did I look forward to them. Their absence from the shelves in recent years has prompted me to try to recreate them. You can use key limes to make these, but the fresh ones were pretty expensive, so I used Nellie and Joe’s bottled key lime juice and zested a regular Persian lime. These will be a new mainstay in the summer repertoire, for sure. They were really tender, tart and sweet and just what I was hankering for. It’s always good to keep the Mister happy too. He just gave them an enthusiastic “10” and said he could pound them like nachos (I better go hide some).
Key Lime Spritzer Cookies
makes 2 dozen cookies
1 1/2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3 teaspoons lime zest
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons key lime juice
For coating:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream the butter, then beat in the zest and confectioner’s sugar. Measure into the bowl 1 3/4 cup flour, the cornstarch, salt, baking powder and beat well until incorporated. Quickly beat in the lime juice and then drop teaspoons of dough (you should aim to size them small enough to pop the whole thing in your mouth) onto the lined cookie sheets. Bake about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom.
Cool completely. Place 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar into a ziploc bag. Add a couple cookies at a time and shake gently to coat them completely. They are tender and will break easily, so don’t add too many to the bag at once. Store at room temperature in a sealed container (but they will probably be gone before they have a chance to get stale!).
